Comments

Overdrive

Although the origins of the Christmas Tree are varied, it's been called a Christmas Tree and nothing else for many years. Why change it? The only answer is to increase retail profits. It's not about liberal vs. conservative or about removing religion; it's about sales and marketing.

Jazzie

If it's not a religious holiday, then what is it? Another holiday to which our stores can benefit (greed, American style) and people can gloat? Sorry I don't get the warm and fuzzy feelings some people get. I'm just glad the whole thing is over for 6 months at least.

RufusTFirefly

My, how Fox "news" and Fox wannabes dearly love a war (even if they need to stir it up or deliberately take something out of context to get one). How about the "War on Thankgiving Day" by retailers? Actually, the Jamestown Puppy-Urina...I mean Post-Journal, ran a story documenting a local shopaholic's glorious Thanksgiving Day adventure grabbing more more more rather than being thankful for what they had.

Pharyngula

"During the Winter Solstice, when winter was at its darkest and the days were the shortest of the year by the Germanic Lunar Calendar, Celtic and pagan civilizations throughout Northern Europe would celebrate and sacrifice to the Norse god, Jul (Though pronounced and contemporarily recognized as “Yule.”), and celebrate their Yule Tide festival. This is the tradition from which we have our Yule log, today. The Germanic practice, however, involved cutting down a massive hardwood log that was large enough to burn for twelve days of feasting and sacrifice, and served as a fertility symbol to both help with the coming of spring and prophesize its bounty. During the Winter Solstice, when winter had its strongest influence on the frozen landscape, Norse pagans would, by tradition, bring entire evergreen trees into their homes. These massive evergreens were called Yule trees, and it was believed that the spirits of the trees would inhabit their home and bless its inhabitants."

troglodyte

Creating the term holiday tree and getting people to say it is liberal bullies making us say uncle. The more stupid and absurd the action, the more conspicuous their power and the more satisfying to their vicious natures. Most atheists are political liberals. The intolerance comes from the liberalism, not the atheism.

Jazzie

Renaldo

The term holiday tree is ridiculous but I've never once heard it mentioned, doesn't seem an issue around here.

I don't think the tree really has anything to do with Christianity, it's more a part of the holiday, and actually was inherited from pagan religions that predated Christianity. Probably the evergreen was used to celebrate rebirth or the coming Spring.